A German court says Meta is liable for fake ads posted by third parties on Instagram and Facebook and orders it to remove such content and pay damages (Linda Pasquini/Reuters)

A German court ruled that US tech giant Meta is liable for fake advertising on its social media platforms Instagram and Facebook. The case involves fraudulent advertisements featuring the logo of the financial guide portal "Finanzfluss" and images of its founder, Thomas Kehl. Meta was ordered to prevent the posting and distribution of such fake advertisements.

The judgment is still not final. The court explained that Meta could not avoid liability as it had no knowledge of the fake advertising. Instead, a service provider is liable if it has control over the content. Meta decides the order and timing of advertisements appearing in user feeds through algorithms, which it controls. The plaintiffs said the judgment goes in the right direction, calling it an important step towards protecting people from widespread financial fraud.

Meta must compensate the plaintiff for any damages resulting from the distribution of single fraudulent advertisements in the future, and provide information on the fake advertising on Instagram or Facebook and the revenue generated by it. Meta stated it would review further steps. The company acknowledged it had taken significant measures, including proactive detection methods and the removal of reported content.

Meta is investing in advanced AI, tools, and partnerships to stop fraudsters. Last year, Meta uncovered and removed over 159 million fraudulent advertisements, 92% of which were detected before they were reported. In March 2025, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt strengthened the rights of affected individuals in a case against Meta involving medical doctor and moderator Eckart von Hirschhausen.

The court ruled that it is sufficient to delete reported fraudulent deepfake advertisements in individual cases. The judges ordered Meta to independently search for and remove any standalone fakes.